Opera

Sunday, 16 June 2013

I put this onto my Kindle because I follow Christopher on Twitter; this stemmed from when he appeared in Il Postino at Los Angeles Opera.I continued following him because of his intelligent insight into the life of an opera singer.

Like any branch of entertainment (and sport) we tend to think of the Big Star Names and the Glamorous Lifestyles that we imagine that they lead. But the Big Names would be nothing without the legion of supporting performers travelling and alternating between big roles in small houses and smaller roles in big houses.

The title is derived from his frequent performances as Flute in Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream - one of the acting troupe, The Mechanicals, who perform the play within the play. And as the peripatetic singers move from opera house to opera house, they often find themselves working closely with people they've never met - or, let's be honest, even heard of - before.

In some ways, I think this is an "insider's" book. I have read reviews and praise from singers and other opera professionals who identify strongly with the situations depicted. As an opera fan with no experience of working in the theatre it lifts the veil of the mysterious arts required to put on an opera. There's a risk in knowing what happens behind the scenes, the possibility of destroying the magic. But I am by nature curious, and I think that knowing a little more about the creative process can lend a greater appreciation to what happens on stage.

A well written book, in that I moved swiftly through it. There was some disconnection in that different chapters, referring to different occasions, were not in strict chronological order, but it was well signed and never confusing. It is published via Lulu, self-publishing, as an increasing number of writers do nowadays. I can absolutely set your mind at rest. This is a quality book, and I didn't notice any sub-editing howlers, which can often occur, even in books supposedly professionally edited and published by established book companies.

I can't claim to have laughed out loud, but it was an interesting insight into the (often) drudgery of working in opera, the difficulties in being away from home, the problems in cancelling for personal reasons when there's no replacement, and the difficulties in financing travel and accommodation for several weeks' rehearsal, when payment is strictly for performance - and contingent on not falling ill on the night. To be honest, I think you have to be interested in opera, or theatre-craft to appreciate this book, but I would definitely recommend it to anybody who wants to understand more about the practicalities of putting on a show. And if you have illusions that all opera singers live the lives of pampered pop stars, prepare for them to be shattered!

Sunday, 31 October 2010

Thnaks to Intermezzo, I have found a copy of the Royal Opera House accounts for the year to the end of August 2009.

To break it down, their total expenditure is £99.5 m, of which £7.5m is the cost of commercial and voluntary activities, leaving £92m to spend on opera and ballet.

Note 7 on page 24 breaks down expenditure into various categories, of which the main ones (in round millions of pounds) are:

Royal Opera 16

Royal Ballet 9

Orchestra 9

Production 10

Stage and Transport 10

Other production and sales costs 5

Management 2

Marketing & publicity 6

Education etc 3

Support costs 20

Staff numbers are

Production 395

Orchestra 114

Ballet 122

Opera 82

£9 million for 114 orchestra players and staff looks *about* right - in actual fact probably includes salaries and on-costs for 114 employed staff and fees for freelancers - £79k probably too much for an full-time orchestra player (please note the costs include Employers' NI & pension contribution as well as salary).

82 opera staff costing £200k each, so I presume that's 82 employed staff - chorus, young artists, and maybe a few assistant assistant conductors/rehearsal pianists, plus the fees paid to any number of visiting freelancers (I say any number, they're listed in the programmes, but I'm not counting now).

It's reasonable to assume that those are the salary and on-cost or fees for instrumentalists, dancers and singers.

395 staff for production at cost of £10 million suggests a cost of £25k, which doesn't strike me as very much (remember, not salary but full cost to employer). Let's hope a significant number are part-time!

£15 million of the support costs are premises related, and the rest are mainly 'management and administration', presumably including ushers, cleaners, cloakroom attendants etc

Scenery, costumes, animals etc are presumably what comes into Stage and Transport, all £10 million of it. Without seeing the budget/management accounts for a specific production it's difficult to conclude, but it doesn't seem excessive, depending on how many productions it represents and the extent to which the costs are shared with other houses - off the top of my head I can't remember which productions were new in 08/09 season.

I guess to some people, 65 managers and administrators may seem excessive, but it depends what they do. I presume they include people like Stage managers, lighting engineers, as well as HR, Legal, finance, media and all those myriad functions every sizeable organisation needs to have in house. I may of course be wrong.

Income includes £35m from box office sales, and £7 million from membership of the Village Hall Flower Arranging Committee Friends. That's quite striking - membership is a fifth of ticket sales.

It's difficult to know what to conclude.

There doesn't seem to be a great deal of fat in that budget. On the other hand, where I work there is an expectation of 25% reduction in frontline services, and a third in backroom support. Much as I love opera, I do think that most of the frontline services my department provides are far more important to the nation (although one may disagree vehemently about the politics behind the policies that drive the operations - and believe me, one does, although not being frontline, one meekly accepts one's position as low-down the food chain and thus expendable/not socially useful).

On the other hand, the budget is 100 times the size, so arguably has more scope for scaling down and finding efficiency savings - though not 25%!

Personally, I think there is a good argument for protecting small budgets such as Arts and Overseas Aid (the latter, the Coalition agrees with me) because enormous cuts to them make not one jot of difference to the overall national finance). But I always think that the ROH audience may contain a disproportionate number of extreme tax avoiders. (By extreme, I don't mean people who ensure they claim every business expense, use their full ISA allowance, etc, but people who create elaborate arrangements and subsidiaries whose only function is to avoid tax which would otherwise be due).

Friday, 10 September 2010

It is pleasing to note that The Royal Opera House has issued a statement regarding its bullying of Intermezzo. They have published it as a bit.ly, and being a .pdf, it opens on my PC without a full permalink. (It also seems I can't copy and paste without ending up with bizarre symbols, but that might just be my set-up).

I do note that they seem to announce a change of policy: they state they are 'happy to provide approved imagery to the media including blogs', which they never have been previously willing to do, so I shall be testing this after the weekend!

My re-reading of this is that their actual complaint was about publishing the set designs for forthcoming productions of Tannhauser and Adriana Lecouvreur, which I fully acknowledge raises a different set of questions from those posed by the publishing of slightly illicit curtain call photos permitted by custom and practice. However, the drafting of the correspondence did not make this at all clear.

Much more important is the high-handed and threatening way in which they handled this matter. There are too many examples of how the Royal Opera House treats many of its customers with disdain, or just in very unprofessionally - a comment on Intermezzo from someone who called the Friends' office

a very
angry lady interrupted me 9 times in our conversation, shouted at me,
and hung up....

Rather typical attitude from the Village Hall Flower Arranging Committee™ I feel.

I hope that the Royal Opera House learns from this episode, that the customer is never the enemy and for their sort of organisation is genuinely a friend, if not necessarily a 'Friend'. All publicly funded organisations are under threat of being slashed; Arts organisations in particular; now is not the time to annoy articulate and passionate customers. I reviewed my blog stats today, especially people visiting my main post on the matter, whether clicking through from Intermezzo or coming independently. I was struck by the wide range of universities, prestigious companies, and well-known charities. Behind the innocuous commercial and masked
IP addresses are numerous individuals well able to form their own conclusions.

I posted this photo of Plácido Domingo, amongst others, on this blog about 6 weeks ago. It was taken within the Royal Opera House, from the front row of the Stalls. I took it at the curtain call at the end of the final performance of Simon Boccanegra.

The programme etc - though not the tickets - and public announcements say that photography is 'strictly forbidden'. Custom and practice, and unsolicited advice from door staff, is that it is strictly forbidden until the curtain calls. As this photo includes a costume designed and made by an ROH staff member or contractor, this photo falls within copyright law.

However, I published this and other photos at the time in good faith under the 'fair use' exemptions to copyright law. At the time I was criticising - in an almost entirely positive way, as it happens - the several performances of Simon Boccanegra which I attended this summer - I am republishing as part of my commentary on what I see as harassment of my sister-in-blogging, Intermezzo

Furthermore, I have been publishing similar photos on this blog and its predecessor "Mad Musings of Me" since 2004, taken in the Royal Opera House, Hammersmith Apollo, the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, English National Opera (although they state on their tickets it is forbidden and I was specifically asked by a steward to stop), The Point Dublin, Teatro Real Madrid, Liceu Barcelona, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Valencia and Le Chatelet Paris. Many are collected in my photo album Performance (which needs updating).

I am publishing this blogpost in solidarity with Intermezzo and call on other bloggers to do likewise.

In a nutshell, the Royal Opera House's somewhat illiterate legal bod has written to Intermezzo instructing her to remove from her blog photographs for which the Royal Opera House holds copyright, and threatening to bar her from the House and instruct her hosting provider to delete her blog.

I support copyright law and think it is extremely important that people get the credit and income for their work. I despise pirates who make money from selling illicit copies of products and thus depriving the artists and other workers of income from legitimate commercial routes.

But Intermezzo hasn't done that! Copyright law is very clear about 'fair use', specifying how much can be reproduced as criticism and comment, and as far as I can see, that is exactly what Intermezzo has done.

In my experience the Royal Opera House is slow (I'm being kind) about the personal internet. On the one hand it seems to give out free tickets willy-nilly to anyone happy to toe the party line - and presumably will withhold them if their reviews are habitually insufficiently fawning - as long as they can prove they have a fanzine*. However, they won't co-operate with anyone who isn't in their club. Requests for Press Releases and authorised Press photos go unanswered. They clearly can't cope with people expressing opinions they cannot control!

Several people have left comments on the blogpost saying how her writings have encouraged them to go to the Royal Opera House or another similar venue. I think it is impossible to measure the impact that blogs and other 'social network' tools have on ticket sales.

Perhaps a lot of the impact is incremental: someone who was in two minds to go may be encouraged to go. Someone who would attend maybe 6 times a year yearning for more involvement, people turning virtual networking into Real Life plans to meet up and become friends. Of course, bad reviews may also deter the undecided, but I doubt that one bad review can be so influential; when a production gets many bad reviews it's probably wise not to blame the reviewers.

A great rule of thumb in life, and especially in anything legalistic is to consider the question of 'proportionality'. I cannot see any financial detriment to the ROH or financial gain** to Intermezzo from her blog nor specifically from casual use of ROH images.

They have threatened to have her blog shut down, which they probably can do if they have a sufficiently persuasive case - but that wouldn't prevent her re-starting it elsewhere, although I'm sure she has better things to do than play a tiresome game of cat-and-mouse, in her leisure time, against a multi-million pound organisation big enough to employ lawyers.

It made me laugh, though, when they threatened to bar her. Of course they do and must retain the right to refuse admission to people, and I expect from time to time they exercise it. I would imagine that this is largely for anti-social threatening or violent behaviour, and that has to be a good thing. I don't think it gives them the moral right to threaten someone capriciously.

I don't know who Intermezzo is and no one I have mentioned her to does either. I use 'her' because I have a sense this is the correct pronoun, perhaps I have a vague memory of some comment about the Ladies loos. I have occasionally tried to work out which person at a venue might be her and then later looked at her photos to confirm my guess (I've been wrong every time).

I assume that she has good reason to remain anonymous, probably work-related. For all I know, she could be the Press contact for a charity, a head-teacher, or someone else who can't afford to mix her work and leisure personae. That's entirely understandable. I know the ROH could probably obtain her details from the blog hosts. I'm not sure whether they, being American, would know they are potentially committing a criminal offence by releasing it without good reason. But that wouldn't actually prevent her attending the Royal Opera House by buying tickets via a RL friend, or in cash, or whatever.

I hope that this incident doesn't stop Intermezzo from attending the ROH, because her love of opera should transcend the stupidity of one petty flunky. Unfortunately, the ROH admin seems riddled with people who think they are running the Village Hall Flower Arranging Committee™ rather than a multi-million pound global brand. But no one should let those bungling bureaucrats destroy their enjoyment of great great music performed by often amazing artists. In a time of Austerity, and during what my Union Branch Chair has dubbed the Comprehensive Sacking Review, publicly funded organisations should be actively working to maintain the goodwill of all their friends.

* My professional and ethics standards - I'm a member of CIPFA and contractually obliged to adhere to IIA's standards - forbid me from taking anything that could be perceived as compromising my independence. In practice, I'd be unlikely to be disciplined for something separate from my paid work, but it would be a technical breach of these standards to accept gifts from publicly-funded bodies. And I wouldn't wish people to think I was so easily bought.

** I can't speak for her, but my hosting costs for this blog are in the region of about £100 pa. I occasionally get a very few pounds from Amazon Associates or Google Ads, but they barely reach £10 a year. I benefit from the kindness of people who were previously strangers, though not financially - I've had 'first refusal' for surplus tickets for sale, I've been sent photos and links to recordings from broadcasts (or in house recordings!) not available in the UK or on the commercial market.

Friday, 29 January 2010

I attended this last night at the Royal Opera House. I wasn't really sure about it when I booked and even less sure about it as I was travelling to see it. But at £22 for my ticket, I had very little to lose and don't even have the obligation of trying to look intelligent in my review.

I don't like Stravinsky. I know this because I always fast forward through The Rite of Spring on Fantasia, and I heard some ballet music I didn't much care for.

This is a stupid way to form and sustain an opinion, so I thought I would give this a go. It was a revival of a production from a couple of years ago, which I didn't see, but there was something about the casting this time round that I found tempting.

As I Twittered on the way home, I did enjoy it, but it did not capture me in a way that would make me want to see it again. I did try to do some homework, by watching a version broadcast on Sky Arts (from Glyndebourne), but I fell asleep during it, because I was very tired when I sat down to watch it, not necessarily because of the work, and then I never found the time to try again.

This causes a dilemma. I think the best way to see and appreciate a work for the first time is to do so live, but the best way to appreciate a work is through getting to know it and discovering the depths and twists beyond the superficial first impressions. So, perhaps I would enjoy it more if I took the time to get to know it. I certainly found the WH Auden/Chester Kallman libretto excellent.

I enjoyed it because it was a truly splendid production well performed by a strong cast. A million miles from the 'Popstar to Operastar' parody of opera as standing on a stage in sequinned gown bellowing into a microphone.

The audience seemed very young, at least from my seat and interval wanderings, with possibly up to a half being younger than me, and the age range fairly evenly spread between about 12 and over 80. The people behind me included two 20-something men, one on his first ever visit to an opera, and he was saying that he deliberately chose something modern. I didn't want to correct him pedantically on the definition of 'modern' because I thought it an interesting point.

I think even more salient is that for people already interested in theatre, a lively and intelligent production is going to appeal more than a staid traditional stereotypical performance of a warhorse.

For me, the least appealing aspect was the music, but I didn't dislike it so it didn't mar my enjoyment. I simply can't see myself ever listening to it without the visuals. And, let's be honest, how many operas were actually written as 'listen only' experiences*?

Robert Lepage's production was superb and Carl Fillon's set designs even better. Even so, a small part of me wondered whether I would tire of the gimmicks if I saw it repeatedly. This has happened with several productions I have seen more than once.

I particularly liked Lepage's trademark use of video. It's quite common to see video used for background, in place of scenery, and he certainly did that, but there was more. I recall the way he used it to light a big blue oblong to resemble a swimming pool, and a delightful scene where Anne Truelove was driving in her onstage prop car with a video behind her and how the two merged, especially as her trailing scarf blew away, Isadora Duncan style. I thought it rather beautiful.

The setting was 1950s USA rather than 18th century London, and a literalist would find problematic the apparent inconsistency between stage action and libretto; literalists shouldn't really attend operas. The characters were larger than life, although ultimately two-dimensional, and I enjoyed all the performers. The music doesn't lend itself to beautiful showpiece singing, the perfect antidote to the dinosaurs who assert that opera is only about vocalism and singing.

Nevertheless I found all singers to be flawless**. Kyle Ketelsen (Nick Shadow), a greatly underrated and highly intelligent performer was the stand-out. Toby Spence (Tom Rakewell) did a delightful job of portraying a blond English public schoolboy on a downward spiral of decline. I enjoy his voice, and he's good on stage, but I do think his voice lacks edginess and didn't always project well over the orchestra (I have sat in the same seat before and find it to be very good acoustically). Patricia Bardon was in her element playing the OTT Baba the Turk and Rosemary Joshua was delightful as the sweet, innocent Anne Trulove.

The staging had some wonderful gimmicks, not least an inflatable caravan. I also enjoyed the sceen in Mother Goose's brothel where Tom Rakewell shags MG on a bed that shakes like a water bed, collapses around and sucks them down below stage through a narrow slit. The coverings removed, the bed is ostensibly heart-shaped but the intention was clearly to convey Tom being swallowed by female genitalia.

I was a little confused about which angle to take on this production as a feminist. When dramas are set in the past, be they operas, plays, TV dramas or indeed novels, I expect them to reflect the mores and attitudes of that time. A 20th century work can legitimately describe 18th century attitudes and imply 'we are different now'.

I am more comfortable with 18th/19th century pieces which use what we now consider sexism, racism, or support of judicial murder as fundamental to the tragedy than ones which imply that these are good, natural and desirable. Even without that, I can interpret it as being a strong piece of historical evidence to show how shit life was before feminism. (But there is a limit to how far one can accept odious attitudes as mere historical archive).

Being swallowed by a giant vagina was not the only scene open to several interpretations. The use of a buxom swimsuited blonde as auctioneers assistant was a more obvious parody of 1950s values. It's also difficult to say that women got a rum deal when Tom Rakewell was the anti-hero and Nick Shadow was the Devil himself. Nevertheless, I think that too many sexist images inserted in a knowing post-modern way can backfire and be normalised by an audience already bombarded by non-ironic sexism in the mainstream media.

I'm afraid I can't say anything intelligent about the orchestral playing under Ingo Metzmacher, but it would be ill-mannered not to acknowledge their contribution to an enjoyable evening.

A trailer from the ROH website - with the 2008 cast. Not very good streaming media: it doesn't stream when paused, and when the 'play' overtakes what's streamed, it goes automatically to pause and then back to the beginning. Sigh

A Twitpic from Kyle's phone. Not a great photo but does show the on-stage cars wonderfully.

* except for certain 'oratorios' by eg Handel which were so written in order to comply with the ban on staged productions in Lent; in my opinion they benefit from at least a semi-staging

** a comment that must of course be qualified by my ignorance of the work

Many people expressed frustration that I limited it to 5, often adding a few also-rans. Many more commented that it changed from day to day. Several people tried to cast multiple votes for one of two particular singers.

Three bulletin boards/groups devoted to specific singers pimped their favourites, which I did not rule out. I don't believe it had a significant effect on the overall results, although it probably led to these singers being placed slightly higher (but those that responded did so in the full spirit with valid votes for 4 other singers, too).

On the blog, 68 singers were voted for; 31 once and 14 twice, leaving a clear Top 23. On Opera-L 66 singers received votes, 30 once and 9 twice, leaving a clear Top 19.

Between the two sources, there were some interesting anomalies - Opera-L placed Natalie Dessay, Piotr Beczala, Joseph Calleja and Susan Graham in the top ten; on the blog the first 3 were joint 24th, and Susan, nowhere. Ruggero Raimondi and Sarah Connolly similarly over-performed on the blog compared to Opera-L.

The overall winner was the joint winner on blog, and second on Opera-L. Mr. Second-Place was joint top and 3rd; the 3rd place singer won Opera-L and came 4th on the blog. 4th was 3rd (b) and 9th (O-L); and 5th was 9th and 4th. So I feel there is reasonable consistency between the results.

No one voted wholly for the top 5, but Alexandra W and ZSQ900 (both from Opera-L) got the top 3. Mary Victor, Jane Clay, Laura and Intermezzo got 3 of the top 5. Jan managed to get all their nominated singers into the Top 19, as did Irina, who only voted for 4. Only Jane Ennis declined to vote for anyone who made the final Top 19, but did cast a vote for someone who was joint 20th.

Five of the top 23 are British, but one born Russian and one born Canadian. 4 are German and 4 from the USA, both Russians now hold alternative citizenship. 15 are from Europe (from Wales to Siberia) and 8 from the Americas (from Argentina to Canada). Two South African singers feature lower down the list, but otherwise I can't identify any as being from Africa/Asia/Down-Under.

So, for the results!

The top ten female singers, with votes cast, are (with Blog/Opera-L breakdown in brackets)

Sondra Radvanovsky 11 (6,5)

Renée Fleming 10 (5,5)

Joyce DiDonato 9 (6,3)

Natalie Dessay 8 (2,6)

Anna Netrebko 7 (3,4)

Elina Garanca 6 (4,2)

Waltraud Meier 6 (5,1)

Sarah Connolly 5 (5,0)

Susan Graham 5 (0,5)

Anja Harteros 5 (4,1)

The ten top men are:

Plácido Domingo 23 (14, 9)

Jonas Kaufmann 21 (14, 7)

Dmitri Hvorostovsky 19 (9, 10)

Juan Diego Florez 17 (12, 5)

Rene Pape 13 (6,7)

Simon Keenlyside 12 (7, 5)

Marcelo Alvarez 11 (8,3)

Ruggero Raimondi 9 (7,2)

Piotr Beczala 7 (2, 5)

Jospeh Calleja 7 (2, 5)

which leaves the Top 23 thus:

1. Plácido Domingo

2. Jonas Kaufmann

3. Dmitri Hvorostovsky

4. Juan Diego Flórez

5. Rene Pape (I ought to have a picture of Rene but, despite chasing him down Las Ramblas, I don't)

6. Simon Keenlyside

7= Marcelo Alvarez

7= Sondra Radvanovsky

9. Renée Fleming

10=Joyce DiDonato

10=Ruggero Raimondi

12. Natalie Dessay

13=Piotr Beczala

13=Joseph Calleja

13=Anna Netrebko

16=Gerald Finley

16=Elina Garanca

16=Waltraud Meier

16=Rolando Villazón

20=Sarah Connolly

20=Susan Graham

20=Anja Harteros

20=Bryn Terfel

Finally, several people wrote that they weren't voting for Rolando Villazón even though they adore him - like me they were using the 'off sick' reason (because it made it easier to bring it down to 5!).

A few felt Thomas Quasthoff ought to at least get a honourable mention, although he rarely sings in opera, because of his considerable physical disability, but vocally he is amongst the current greats.

And what does this exercise prove? Not a lot, actually! But by limiting the numbers voted for to 5, I am sure I have created a situation where people feel that their 6th, 7th and 8th is unjustly overlooked. By arbitrarily cutting off at the top 20 I have omitted, for example Alagna and Gheorghiu, amongst other 'superstars'.

Pettily, I am actually peeved that Jonas Kaufmann is as popular on this blog as Plácido Domingo. And those who know me will be giggling that Sondra Radvanovsky (who I dislike muchly as a singer - although she seems a very nice person) came top of the women. The ones I voted for came 1st, 2nd, 16th, joint 37th and joint 49th!

Monday, 19 October 2009

In a moment of madness I announced to Opera-L that I am conducting a poll of the favourite opera singers singing today, and, furthermore, I would promulgate this on blog and Twitter.

What I actually wrote was:

As an experiment/illustration, I will ask list members to nominate their
favourite five singers currently singing. Post in the comments, or just send to me privately at blogcomments@btinternet.com*. You have
until 31 October - Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere. I will publish
the top twenty by votes and provide a link to a list of more detailed
breakdown of all votes cast (anonymised, of course). Hopefully, I will
be able to process the results within a week or so after.

This list excludes people who are currently 'off sick'
or I haven't heard for at least a couple of years, and it excludes
singers who I like almost as much. I reserve the right to change my mind
next week next month or next year! And I accept that I might end up not
liking the final result!

The more people vote, the more 'valid' the results. Although, of course, the results will only illustrate who is the most popular from a self-selected electorate. Oh, and any entries that include 'Kathryn Jenkins', or 'Paul Potts' or anyone else who cannot claim to be a professional opera singer will be wholly disqualified.

* the sharp-eyed will notice a slight difference from the contact details on Opera-L

Sunday, 04 October 2009

I didn't like this. I mean, I really didn't like it. I sat there for half an hour and looked at my watch and only five minutes had passed. After another hour I checked again; we were just ten minutes in. I decided to leave at the interval. But that was a long time away. Another 35 minutes.

I wanted to wee, even though I had been only ten minutes or so before the curtain. I told myself - you sat through 2½ hours of the Dutchman, including constantly dripping water, and that wasn't a problem. Just focus on the music. No. Can't do that. Focus on the action. No. Can't do that.

You've paid forty-odd quid for this ticket. Front row of the stalls. And it's short. 6.30 curtain. 7.15 interval. 8.40 finish. Michael-I-was-at-Primary-School-with* has a small part, but large enough to warrant a proper inclusion in the cast list. No one from your Primary School has ever achieved so much in opera (or any branch of entertainment, to my knowledge).

I decided that my time is worth more than my money. I could have sat there, bored out of my scull, and written a more insightful piece about why it was pants (technical term). But I thought, why bother?

I have read several reviews. Almost all of them focused on the spectacle. Not a lot to be said about the music. Apparently it was a comedy. The only laughs were at someone drawing attention to the fat stomach of a bloke with a fat stomach. Laugh! I barely started.

Apparently, the highlight was a giant figure on stage, which was the constant throughout the show. An enormous great big human figure with eyes that moved and a face that seemed almost alive. Well, I say 'almost', but you know, CGI is pretty old hat. It's a brilliant way of doing special effects, but, you know, an artistic creation is a fail when it's solely about special effects.

I have no complaints about the technical quality of the singing or orchestral playing.

But, and here is a big but. I simply didn't like the music. I got a horrific reminder of why I totally hated 'contemporary music' for very many years. (And, actually, if it dates from when I was still at Primary School, it seriously isn't contemporary).

I am conscious that if I dismiss it as a load of pretentious wank I will attract brickbats from the achingly trendy type of person who believes that the only valid music is 'contemporary' music ie music that has developed out of developments in the classical genre and is typified by absence of melody, atonality, general screeching and a great deal of noise. Note, I am a big percussion fan and enjoy very much the percussion writing of composers as diverse as Britten (died after I was born) and Reich (still active; I have almost met him).

Coupled with a surrealist story and the hammiest acting since I went to that theatre above a pub in Parsons Green, randomly selected from Time Out as horizon-widening, in 199-something, it really wasn't for me.

I refuse to take sides in the argument about pretentious wanky modern art. To some extent I fully acknowledge that because I am an amateur, I lack the knowledge and experience to appreciate the profundity of the artist. I also acknowledge that art is not synonymous with entertainment, although they overlap.

I do not consider instant accessibility to be the sine qua non of art, although I would argue that Great Art is both accessible at a superficial level and abounds in a wealth of deeper meanings that reward application and reflection (qv Don Carlo). If art fails to communicate with or alienates the non-professional/non-expert, its purpose is limited.

Hundreds of people have been to see this current run of Le Grand Macabre and enjoyed it. Some enjoyed it because they are free-thinking intellectuals who know that the only relevant music is that which doesn't contain pretty tunes and, preferably, dates from post WWII and even better post-1975. But many enjoyed it for its own sake.

I have pretty broad tastes in music. In the past year I have attended and enjoyed works by composers ranging from Henry Purcell to John Adams, and including Handel, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini, Alfano, & Britten. I am a big fan of a lot of 80s commercial pop music, and have an abiding love of several singer-song writers currently active. I have a lot of political and musical issues with Rap but every couple of years I find a Rap track that speaks to me and demonstrates that it can be an art form, that greatness can manifest through rap. Although I would identify my favourite pop genre as being folk-inspired (kd lang, Billy Bragg, Nanci Griffith, Leonard Cohen, Kathryn Williams), I also I have an abiding passion for punk/new-wave and Goth rock (Sisters of Mercy, Mission etc). Of course, none of this makes me an expert, but I do think I am a reasonably well-informed amateur.

But being a well-informed amateur or even a well-schooled expert does not mean that one's tastes and opinions are 'the truth'. Because someone else's taste or opinion is directly contradictory and is equally valid for them. I don't think that popularity is in itself a measure of greatness, but I do think that enduring popularity across several generations, amongst people of widely varying expertise is an important test - Beethoven's 9th being the standard work used to illustrate this point.

When I praise a work, or performance, or performer, I often use expressions such as 'reached out to the audience'; 'gripped the audience and held then in rapture'. By 'the audience' I actually mean 'me' because I cannot possibly second-guess the reaction of anyone else. No one has ever pulled me on this one. But if I state that this work, or at least Scene 1, failed to grip the audience I feel sure that someone will question my right - if only in their mind, not the comments - to project my reaction onto others people.

I am glad that ENO put on this work, and I am glad that I bought a ticket and attended. Perhaps I should have sat it out. But I found the music to be so irritating, and the proceedings on stage to be so pompous yet pointless, I really did not wish to be there.

I know people who make it a matter of honour never to walk out except on health grounds, however awful the proceedings. I am brutal. I go to opera, and other arts/entertainment to enjoy myself. That enjoyment may include being emotionally wrecked, or having some of my principles and pre-conceptions challenged. I don't just seek out warm cozy feel-good mental chewing gum. I like to apply my considerable intellect to proceedings; I also like to find music, especially beyond easy-to-hum tunes.

When I am bored stupid in the first ten minutes, and the next ten minutes until the end of the scene drags interminably, I know it is time to cut my losses. I don't need to be achingly trendy or demonstrate (falsely) that I am full of bullshit masquerading as intellectual profundity.

If one element had been worth my while, I might have stayed longer. But I doubt anything would have got me past the realisation that the 'music' was nothing more than sound effects, unconnected notes played in a random way that was displeasing.

It wasn't that it was unsettling - I can cope with unsettling - it was because somewhere it resembled real music but was as annoying as the bloke I heard 'singing' along to his iPod on the escalators at Clapham Common, or the toddler in my neighbourhood who has spent the summer practising their recorder in the garden.

The small child I am okay about, because I know that they will progress. Le Grand Macabre (Scene 1) had as much meaning to me as when someone spatters a canvas with drips of oil-paint and someone calls it genius. Noise is noise and spatters of paint remain spatters of paint. Which I know makes me sound like a reactionary. I'm not: I like innovation, creativity and looking at things from a fresh angle.

Just because something ticks all those boxes doesn't make it great, or even good - I know that from reading middle-brow fiction and from watching TV as well as from classical art forms. I also know from the numerous academic political journals and textbooks I have read over the years. They are written with multi-syllabic words and long sentences, often with dependent clauses. The high-falutin writing style masks but does not conceal that the writer says nothing of worth. As an accountant I have been trained to value substance over form.

I think in the long-term, attending this work, if only for Scene 1, will move my consciousness forward. Also, it will be another useful benchmark in the 'as bad as Pelleas & Melisande, or La Gioconda at Holland Park' League table. Considering the frequency I attend opera and related performances, I think I am due an 'unremittingly awful' about once a year!

Just for the record - Pelleas & Melisande is a dull opera with a ghastly static production which wasted three great singers giving, I think, great singing performances. La Gioconda is a trashy but tuneful opera with some poor quality singing in a so-bad-it's...no-it's-bad production. Le Grand Macabre pretty much wipes away P&M's use as a benchmark of bad, and like it, will probably win all the relevant awards!

NB I bought the ticket for this myself; I did not receive compliments of ENO or anyone associated with them. I took advantage of the discount for buying tickets for performances of several operas

* I was friendlier with his older brother, he was friendlier with my younger brother. My mother often chats with his parents, especially when I have spotted him in ROH or ENO chorus.

Monday, 13 July 2009

I think I enjoyed this. I'm certainly glad that I went, and I stayed to the end.

I have actually got this on DVD and I have watched it once. I do recall enjoying it, even though I suspect I might have been multi-tasking at the time.

It was certainly worth it for twenty quid in the second row of the stalls, and I can safely say that every aspect of it was technically of a high nature.

The singers - Roderick Williams (a very under-rated singer, IMO), Joan Rodgers and Faith Sherman - presented a cogent and pleasant evening, and were wonderfully supported by their body doubles/trebles, in a production by new wave circus director, Daniele Finzi Pasca. I enjoyed the acrobatics as much as I enjoyed the music, and I liked the general atmosphere of the piece, visually and aurally.

I suppose my main reservation was that it was too long. The music is pleasant but soporific, so I had an opera nap* in each of the two halves. I read something somewhere recently, it might have been apropos Rufus Wainwright, that said that writing an opera is very difficult. It requires more than just writing a long piece of music.

At a little over two hours, it certainly isn't long, not in contrast to Wagner and Handel. But it makes it much the same length as Otello, Boheme etc, which pack a lot of action and emotional range. They also have more identifiable characters and crowd scenes, too.

Like a TV drama series or a film, there is little to be gained by fleshing an opera out with atmospheric mood music, unless it is of such a high quality and provides sufficient contrast to be a feature in itself. 19th century composers moved away from opera seria because of the inherent problems of the recitative holding up the action for little effect other than allowing a key change; I don't want the same ponderousness in 21st century operas.

I think if you are making an opera last more than an hour or so you have to have a lot of good music, or have roles where the audience can experience their characters developing, or you have to have a lot of action. Better to have at least two if not three of those elements. L'amour de loin lacked all three.

It was clear from the programme that this was an Ed Gardner project, and as, far as I could tell, it was another sterling performance from him. We are lucky to have him as Music Director, both for what he does in the pit and for having the courage to bring such productions to the stage. I suspect he will be sought after by bigger organisations before too long. I was closer to him than I have been before, and he looks even impossibly younger than he does from the Upper Circle, although I am surprised that he is 35.

* this is a frequent and very sensual experience where I fall half asleep. It drives my mind into a hyperactivity of over-stimulus which it is unable to deal with rationally. So I end up being very trippy and having osme marvellous verbal and visual imaginings which are totally disconnected with the opera I am seeing but, surely, are stimulated and inspired byit. Better than drugs!

Friday, 12 June 2009

I found Wade Kernot, Marc Canturri and Dora Rodrigues to be much of a muchness. Competent, massively talented relative to almost everybody else in the known universe, but ultimately, simply not notable.

Helen Kearns was worse than last night's Welsh soprano who was worse than the previous night's Polish soprano. I actually ended up shouting 'shut-up' at the TV; that was after I had said ouch ouch ouch.

Fortunately there was Giordano Lucà. Looks like he desperately needs to get down the gym, didn't come over as the brightest buton in the box...Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an Italian Tenor! Only 21, he's already sung with Montserrat Caballe and Katia Ricciarelli. And really, he illustrates one of the conundrums of this competition.

I accept that different people, as well as different voice types mature at different rates, and that not everybody goes through music college, then post-grad and so on; I can name several singers eg Christine Brewer and Marcelo Alvarez whose careers didn't even start until they were well into their thirties.

I also think there were several singers whose careers seem sufficiently well-advanced that it seems difficult to see how they can be improved by the exposure of this competition.

But there are several singers in their very late twenties or thirties where I want to say, look dear, if you haven't made it by now, you probably won't. You look at their biography and they've spent years doing competition after competition, provincial young artists' programmes, and singing in various even more provincial houses, and they still haven't been spotted. I can't blame them for trying and for dreaming, and no doubt they're assured a living.

I also know that there are numerous stories about people with great talent who never get anywhere, which may be true, but may only be half the truth, but the simple truth is that, in any field, those with real talent, coupled with a good work ethic and a readiness to work in a team, will be noticed. Maybe not get to the very very top, but world-class singers don't get stuck in the provinces for ever, unless they lack commitment or drive or whatever.

But I suspect that all that this competiton and other high-profile competitions do is accelerate a process that would happen anyway, giving them maximum exposure and prestigious contracts now.

And when you get someone like Giordano Lucà, you know he's in a different League. When they said he was 21, I assumed Iwould be making a judgement about 'the future' and 'potential'. But that wasn't the case. I'm not suggesting he's the finished article, but he's the Real Thing. A reminder of why I think the tenor voice is special, really gorgeous, polished, in control. I don't know whether he will win - there is some stiff competition, especially from the male finalists - but he is definitely one to watch. He even made me sit up in Che gelida manina which is not exactly my favourite aria.

I suppose, being so young, he would be wise to spend several years studying and consolidating, but no doubt he will get plenty of advice from people who actually know what they're talking about.

So, the final is, unusually, made up of the five winners of the five heats - Eri Nakamura, Ekaterina Shcherbachenko, Yuriy Mynenko, Jan Martiník, and Giordano Lucà.

Thursday, 11 June 2009

I don't know whether I was in a particularly bad mood this evening, but I really did feel like giving up on the competition. I didn't particularly like any of the first four competitors. And I was getting in a bad mood with both Mary King and Gerald Finley. I love Gerald to pieces but he was being far too nice

The worst was Natalya Romaniw. Frankly, a lot of the time, she wasn't even singing, but screeching. I did get a bit annoyed about the 'Welsh' chauvinism. How crap to go along to an International Competition and cheer on somebody just because of their nationality, unless you happen to know them personally or as a performer. And if it's crap to do that, it's even crapper for the BBC to pander to that nationalism when, surely, there would have been far more English people watching than Welsh. (And, of course, she might be Welsh but, gosh, she lives in England). One suspects that she was only there because it is obligatory to have a Welsh entrant.

Katharine Tier's rendition of Dopo notte was awful. Handel sung in the style of Puccini, but bad Puccini. Her Wesendonck Lied wasn't so bad, in fact, I'm prepared to accept it was technically good, and she's got a Wagnerian voice blah-de-blah, but I found it boring.

Not much better was Vira Slywotzky's Crudele! - Non mi dir, which was painful to the ears. Loud and not particularly on pitch. I don't know Barber's Vanessa, but this did sound better. Not enough to make me enamoured of her.

I did get to the point of thinking Javier Arrey was going to win this heat, despite not being as impressive as at least two singers who didn't win theirs on previous nights. He was competent and pleasant, but I didn't for a minute think he was a contender against the three that have won their programmes and the two that didn't but should have!

So it was a relief to hear Jan Martiník (I've just read he was an Operalia finalist in 2007). He was polished and technically excellent, and I thought his voice beautiful, with no woofy bits or wavering. I liked him when he sang high (well, high for a bass) and I even liked him when he went way down low. So, he was the dead cert winner of the heat as far as I was concerned, but having so disagreed with Mary and Gerry about the other singers, I didn't know whether my judgement had deserted me. But they both seemed decisive in predicting him the winner, and the jury also named him the programme winner.

There's still tomorrow night to go (although it has already been recorded) with a bass, two sopranos, a tenor and a baritone, but before that, I would put my order as:

Yuriy Mynenko, the Ukrainian counter-tenor

Jan Martiník, the Czech bass

Emiliya Ivanova, the Bulgarian soprano

Ji-Min Park, the Korean tenor

Eri Nakamura, the Japanese soprano

Incidentally, none of them being from countries you tend to think of with a production line of opera singers (although Korea does seem to be producing a lot nowadays, and Ukraine has probably produced a lot I think of as 'Russian').

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!

The Song Prize Final (I haven't heard any highlights of the heats) is between:

Izabela Matula was the weakest competitor I have seen in modern times*. Obviously, she was deemed good enough to be in the finals; it may be that hse just had a bad day, maybe she wasn't well, or was preoccupied by worry. In real life, this happens. For a competition it's tough, but we can only judge by what happens on the day.

Csaba Szegedi has stage presence in bundles. I like the sound his voice makes, although not so much in the Don Carlos but I was perturbed by the pitch of some of the notes, and his tendency to fall off held notes. He did speak rather sing in several phrases.

I really liked Yuriy Mynenko, which is worrying, like I'm getting into counter-tenors or something. A beautiful voice and a really involved, passionate performance (special kudos to the horns in Va tacito!). I liked it so much I rewound to hear it all again. I would have loved to heard his Gluck too. So far, he's my favourite of the competition. So, depending on the final two heats, he's my winner. But I reserve the right to change my mind!

I liked Claire Meghnagi's Mozart aria, a gorgeous bell sound at the top, although I she sounded a bit muddied lower down. I had never heard of Les mamelles de Tirésias until a couple of weeks back when a friend went to see it, in Bilbao I think. (And I don't know much Poulenc but I love Dialogue of the Carmelites). A fascinating aria, but I'm not sure I liked the squawky sound she displayed too often!

So, for the first time this week, the jury agreed with me!

*I started watching this in 2005 once I'd got digital telly, after a break of several years.

Tuesday, 09 June 2009

One of the nice things about TV programmes like Cardiff Singer of the World is that I am reminded that there are so many arias that I really like, and not just for the tenor voice.

I enjoy forming my opinion during the performance and I am pleased at how often I agree with the post-match analysis in the studio. There are times when I don't; it's also fun to predict who will win the programme.

Again, I will preface my comments by noting that TV is an inadequate way of measuring how a singer sounds live; disembodied arias performed concert-style are an inadequate way of telling how someone performs in a staged opera; and all of the singers are good enough that if I heard them in a substantial role I would not feel short-changed.

Two gentlemen dressed conservatively, one a little less so, daring to wear a long tie rather than a bow tie. Like last night, both women were thin. Not in a horrible flatchested way, but perfectly capable of fitting into standard dresses (need to watch this throughout the week; the law of averages demands someone plump, and we know how many fine voices come out of large women).

My least favourite was Octavio Moreno. LikePenny Smith I didn't care for the stand-and-deliver style. And, like John Mark Ainsley I was concerned by some technical issues near the top.

I had to agree that Dawid Kimberg was far from the finished article - when he was performing, I thought I would like to hear him in two years time when he has completed the Jette-Parker Young Artists programme. I did feel that he had a bit of a wobble and an uneven sound, a bit of a breath control issue.

I liked Anne Stephany in the Handel - Dopo Notte - but didn't particularly go for her in the Ravel or Bellini. She seemed a bit cold and too controlled.

I didn't care for Ekaterina Shcherbachenko's Come Scoglio. I didn't like her tone of voice, nor did I care for her interpretation. I thought her Tatiana letter scene was excellent, even though it is the one bit in the opera which tends to lose me.

My favourite was Ji-Min Park. Of course, I have heard him live several times; he was on my list of tenors to watch last year. I think much of what I said about Eri Nakamura last night could also apply to him. He's scheduled to sing Rodolfo at Covent Garden and Romeo at La Scala; I'm surprised he needs Cardiff. Indeed, an established and respected soprano (I've heard her at ENO) remarked on Facebook last night that she was declined entry back in the Nineties for being too experienced. I thought he brought a very individual interpretation to the Gianni Schicchi aria, and in the Dein ist mein ganzes Herz, I felt I was watching a well-established tenor of whom I read good things but for soem reason hadn't encountered before, not a 'young artist' under development.

Monday, 08 June 2009

It's Day One in the Cardiff Singer of the World House and the five singers are lined up to belt a few arias.

Both gentlemen were dressed conservatively. Both of them were easy on the eye without being ddg.

None of the Ladies were frumpy or overweight; all three wore nice gowns, Eri Nakimura's was especially lovely.

All of them have proved they are good enough to be in this competition. All of them have studied, trained and practised hard for years to get to this standard.

The following comments are only impressionistic comments based on two or three arias shown on the TV.

My least favourite was Dana Bramane. I thought her voice too heavy for the light pieces she chose; but she's too young for the heavier roles that suit her voice. I thought she squawked too much - Mary King put it more kindly, but basically meant the same thing.

I couldn't decide between the two men. Etienne Dupius was charming, but charming isn't enough. I thought Fernando Javier Radó was too young, especially for the Don Carlo aria. Hearing someone experienced (in life) singing it makes me shudder and shiver, and it's an aria that deserves acclaim from the audience. I don't think Cardiff judges look for potential, but assess them on where they are now, wherever that is. I liked him, but he lacks the Shenyang factor. I thought he would do better in the Song Prize, but in fact he hasn't entered.

I really liked Emiliya Ivanova. Obviously, TV is no guide to how the voice can penetrate the orchestra, but I loved her fearless risk-taking. I loved her voice, her musicality, her performing instinct. I do think she has studied Anna Netrebko very closely; she needs to move on from that. But I would love to hear more of her.

Eri Nakamura was in a different league from the others. Even her post-performance interview, where she praised the orchestra and audience, was probably a result of her media training at ROH. It was clear that she was going to win the programme. Polished, professional, focused. I enjoy her on stage, and I enjoyed her performance, but I don't think she will win.

Saturday, 09 May 2009

Somewhat in the manner of London buses, there are several programmes scheduled soon on BBC TV that will be of interest to fans of opera and classical music.

Starting tonight on BBC2 with Purcell: The Londoner and continuing in subsequent weeks with Handel: The Conquering Hero, and then Haydn and Mendelssohn (ie getting more tenuous on the 'British' as we go along!). It's just an excuse to wallow in anniversaries of years ending in 9, of course. I could be churlish but I can assure you I shall be setting my Sky+

Finally, in probably the nearest that ITV will get to 'culture' (The South Bank Show is set to be abolished) - The 2009 Classical Brit Awards at the Royal Albert Hall will be broadcast on Tuesday 19th May, at 10.35pm on ITV1. I imagine my Sky+ may be set. I wouldn't be surprised if selected highlights end up on Rapidshare and/or YouTube.

Saturday, 18 April 2009

No surprises in that list and just about everything we expected, but great finally to have some casts filled out, and some more definite dates. There's almost nothing I wish to miss and there are certain things that you would have to incarcerate me to keep me away. Obviously, for me, the highlights are Tamerlano and

In
one of those rare operatic fairy stories, June sees a baritone with
less than a year's experience thrust into a leading role at Covent
Garden

(Simon Boccanegra)

Obviously, being that Tamerlano stars Senor Chesthair, and is by now one of the Handel operas I know the best, and is a beautiful production, it goes without saying that I would go. I'm not clear whether it will be the ROH orchestra or a baroque specialist ensemble. I hope for the latter. I'm a bit disappointed in the conductor, but he'll do (and it's certainly not one I'd like Tony to conduct!).

The rest of the Boccanegra looks strong and attractive, and that's definitely an opera I'd want Tony conducting.The other obvious highlights are Don Carlo and Tristan und Isolde, although whether one will be able to stand the tension of whether it's an 'on' night or a night of cracks for Ben Heppner.

Rosenkavalier has an irresistible cast, especially Soile Isokoski whom we don't get enough of at Covent Garden, and Lucy Crowe who I was disappointed to miss the other night but has a gorgeous voice and a star in the ascendancy. I will probably give the Boheme a miss. Although it would be interesting to see if Piotr Beczala has become really such a wow singer as some claim, since I last heard him, I don't think I could endure the named soprano in an opera I detest.

I don't really know Rake's Progress, but the cast is very tempting. Kyle Ketelsen is such an underrated singer, Stephanie Blythe is a one-off, and I was totally won over to the charms of Toby Spence recently in La Resurrezione at the Barbican; Kate Royal I just don't get.

Without knowing the full cast for Cosi I can't say more, but it's a wonderful production of an opera that, although it can drag a bit, is fun, and chocked full of great tunes. To my shame I don't know Cunning Little Vixen at all, but I don't see a reason to stay away. Turco in Italia doesn't interest me, so I'll probably give that a miss.

Aida is far from being my favourite Verdi, but Marcelo Alvarez makes it a must-see. Plus, of course, David McVicar being in charge of proceedings. Traviata throws up an interesting combination - Saimir Pirgu and Ermolena Jaho, interesting for both being Albanian. The 'B cast' Violetta is La Ghoergheous, so that demands two visits (at least). But can we have a new production, pls?

La Fille and Nozze are unmissable, Manon I don't know, but who could miss the Trebs and Eyebrows show? And the season finishing with Salome. I don't recall what I wrote of this last time round, and although I could search on here, the point is that the more time since it happened elapses, the more of a strong impression it makes on my memory

There is barely a production where I think - oh god, I would like to see that but there is someone in the cast who is such a deterrent I'm going to have to avoid it (although there's no details yet of the B casts for Boheme and Carmen, and in any case I need to be drawn to Boheme by a don't-miss singer, and I'll be bored once Che gelida manina is over).

I'm not sure it's a particularly balanced season, but thankfully, except for the inevitable dreary Boheme, it's cut out a lot of Puccini over-kill of the current season. There are several operas I am avoiding this season because of certain cast members (Trovatore and Traviata in particular, and Tosca I'm going to despite certain cast members). All my favourite tenors make appearances, but I regret the absence of my favourite baritone.

But only two operas from the first 200 years of opera history (and one feels the Handel is only there because of Plácido). And the only concession to modernity is Rake's Progress (1951) by the only composer whose life overlapped mine (died 1971). Perhaps there will be more in ROH2. ENO's season is more balanced and exciting, although of course lacks the starpower of ROH, and because ENO doesn't do mediocre, one runs the risk of getting the appallingly bad as well as the brilliant.

Obviously this season won't satisfy the overwhelming vast majority of fossils on newsgroups because a) it will include visual aspects b) most of the singers can do more than just bellow loudly and c) the biggest crime of all, not one of the scheduled singers is dead, which means that none of them can be taken seriously.

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

The Metropolitan Opera 2009-10 Season.
The Met: Live in HD series will present nine live transmissions in its fourth season. Tickets for the 2009-10 series will go on sale in September; Met members will have ticket priority before tickets are made available to the general public.

Thursday, 01 January 2009

To be honest, I haven't really been to a great many live performances this year. No orchestral concerts, nothing in Period 4 at ROH. A lot skipped at ENO. Only half a performance at Holland Park. Two disappointing vocal concerts at the Barbican. No Proms. An avoidance of Puccini this autumn. I didn't review everything I went to - A gorgeous Handel evening with Carolyn Sampson at St John's Smith Square - I couldn't really say more than 'I enjoyed it very much'. I didn't review Juan Diego Flórez at the Barbican because he was suffering an allergy and couldn't give his all in a programme which, in any case, was never going to be my ideal evening out (too much Rossini).

I didn't write reviews of either Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci or Boris Godunov at ENO. In summary, the Cav was so-so, the Pag was brilliant and the Boris was probably better than I thought it to be (ie it was well performed but I have decided I don't like the opera, so it bored me).

Turkey of the year was undoubtedly La Gioconda at Opera Holland Park. I went with Jimmy. We left at the interval, which seemed a long time coming. Some people argue it was so bad it was good in a car-crash sort of way. Maybe. Roberto Alagna must also be mentioned in this paragraph. He was bad but I did stay until after at least some of the encores.

I have had some bad luck with cancellations - Anna Netrebko in Traviata, Anna Christy and Mark Stone in Lucia di Lammermoor, Marina Poplavskaya in Don Carlo. I have scored a hat-trick of last minute substitutions. When I say 'last minute' I mean 'during the course of the performance'. Mark Stone in Eugene Onegin, Marco Vratogna in Simon Boccanegra and Jennifer Check in Iphigénie en Tauride.

Of course I had trips abroad for Plácido and I think these should be placed in a separate category. Travelling abroad naturally means one's expectations are higher than when one just has to hop on an 87 bus. My readers know how much I adore Plácido so, of course, that also raises my expectations and also makes me more fearful of disappointment. And, of course, he is Plácido. He is legend, he is outstanding, arguably unique in the history of opera. He is the benchmark against which every singer will be measured for ever more. He is a phenomenon.

I enjoyed all four performances I caught of him. If I had to rank them, I would say Die Walküre (Barcelona), the Monday performance of Iphigénie en Tauride (Valencia), Tamerlano (Madrid) and the Saturday performance of Iphigénie. The best non-Plácido aspect of these Spanish performances was Waltraud Meier in Die Walküre. And René Pape in Die Walküre. And the personenregie in Die Walküre. In fact, also bearing in mind that the Liceu is the best opera house visited in almost all respects, Die Walküre Act 1 in particular should have knocked all competition out of the water and closed the debate, but for the lousy conducting.

So without further ado, here, in no particular order or logic are my highlights of the year, excluding my Spanish trips:

Operas I enjoyed the least proportionate to the Praise heaped on them and the undoubted genius of their composer, and despite sterling performances from Simon Keenlyside: Die Zauberflote and Don Giovanni.

Special award to three singers, all tenors as it happens, that I want to hear more of in the future having heard them for the first time this year: Ed Lyon, Ji-Man Park and Ismael Jordi (I'm cheating on this, I heard him in Spain).

Wednesday, 24 September 2008

I am appalled and upset by the experience I have had today booking tickets.

To cut a very long story short, I logged on 8 am and was put in the waiting room, where I waited. For half an hour. In the meantime I was exchanging emails with friends who were crashing out of the site. At half eight I started getting Page Load Errors, so I spent quarter of an hour manually refreshing the page fruitlessly. I went away from the PC for 15 minutes and tried refreshing again, in vain. I then had to go out, to work. I tried a few times during the day. Most of the time I just went to an error reporting page, sometimes I got in the waiting room but as soon as the page auto-refreshed it went to the Error Reporting Page. That may be because of reduced functionality at work - our system is certified by CESG as being secure enough for the Government Secure Intranet. In any case, I go to work to work, which is why I allowed myself an hour to get booked.

I returned home and logged on just after 7. I still had to wait in the waiting room (despite having received an email saying - it's a lot quieter now you shouldn't need be in the waiting room). Each time I clicked on the buy this link I was unlogged. I concluded this was because I was using Mozilla Firefox, and reluctantly I switched to IE 7, which I hate. I finally got somewhere, where - up a blind alley. I am particularly upset that the Evening with Rolando Villazon is sold out - that was the main reason I went on the site at 8am. I checked two dates for Flying Ductchman, to find there was nothing available between £14 and £160 (and the £14 or under were either very restricted view or standing).

Beggars Opera, sold out. All my other selections, a choice between really dismal or really expensive seats. Final result at 1940 hours, nothing.

I accept that when it comes to finite resources, it's a bit of a lottery; I have often accepted that by waiting until the evening I have to settle for less than ideal. I accept that certain things will be tremendously popular. I just feel very aggrieved that having made the effort to log on a minute or two before eight, I have lost out to people who may not even have tried until lunchtime.

I would like to think I may stand a chance of decent tickets when public booking opens, but I don't pay my Friends fee in order to take my chance with casual users. As that doesn't open until 10 am, I won't be able to do it from home without taking time off - which will be difficult to swing anyway, because of meetings that are set up.

We seem to have been here before and the problems were resolved, but rather than stick with something that seemed to be working, it seems that some clever-clogs has turned it into a system that can't cope.

I realise that I am not alone in complaining - I am a member of London Opera Community Yahoo Group, and several friends have had prompt and pleasant apologies. But I am upset, and stressed, and I just want to scream 'it's not fair!', because I did the best I could, I was there on site when it opened, and I gave it an hour, on a work day.

The hideousness of this is manifold. Note we get 'Favourite Soundtrack' but not 'Favourite Symphony' or 'Favourite Concerto' or even 'Favourite Non-Vocal Orchestral Work', nor of course 'Favourite Chamber Music'. We get two categories for singer, and one that encompasses the whole of the rest of instrumentalists.

And the shortlists ...

Ten composers, including Mahler and Vaughan Williams, but not Verdi or Wagner.

Favourite opera includes 3 by Puccini and 2 by Mozart but none by Wagner. Or Britten. But does include Mikado (might as well include The Sound of Music, too).

Favourite female singer includes one dead and three retired (or semi-retired) greats, and several singers currently active, including a microphone-dependent pop singer known on this blog as Warbling Barbie (why not include other pop singers?).

And favourite male singer includes a good selection of decent singers plus Andrea Bocelli and Russell Watson. I'm just shocked that Paul Potts isn't included. I am being lobbied vociferously by the Simon Keenlysiders, but I strongly recommend my readers to vote for Plácido Domingo.

It's not clear whether the voter is supposed to have a preference based on live performance or on recordings, or what? Lifetime contribution or merit in the past year or so?

It's pretty clear that the final result, especially in regard to the singers will prove nothing other than effectiveness of the lobbyists of their respective followers. And,also, it does seem to allow multiple voting, although not in the same session. So, fundamentally flawed.Think, when Katherine Jenkins wins, she will go on and on and on about how this technically flawed farce 'proves' that she is whatever she thinks she is on any particular day. Merely that the votes of those who appreciate vocal greatness were split several ways and the votes of those that love mediocrity were split only between Jenkins and the infinitely more talented (but still mediocre) Lesley Garratt.

My professional opinion as an auditor and my informed opinion as a politics graduate with two decades experience of actively fighting elections is that this is a total joke. As a blogger, I repeat, Vote Early and Vote Often! Up until 31 July.

Of considerably more merit, but still, I believe, with the ability to vote often is the Gramophone Awards 2008 – Artist of the year. Although this is co-sponsored by Classic FM, somehow Warbling Barbie doesn't make the cut. Instead I am forced to decide between Gerald Finley and Rolando Villazón. How can they make me do this? Oh, wait, I can vote often for both!

Monday, 10 March 2008

How can this be? I have not encountered one single person who actually liked the production in any sense whatsoever, ranging from people who know and love the opera to people who know and hate the opera to people who don't know the opera and found the production no help in remedying that. There also seems to be a consensus that the cast were fabulous, despite the production, rather than because of. It was up against Fille du Regiment and Agrippina, both of which I saw and loved (interestingly, I liked Fille a lot less on TV) and Turn of the Screw which in the end Icouldn't make, much to my disappointment. I cannot in any way sense shape or form understand how Pelléas et Mélisande was regarded as better than Death in Venice, or my personal favourite of the whole year, Satyagraha.

I'd also quibble with Natalie Dessay winning 'outstanding achievement' . The other contenders were Angelika Kirchschlager and Gerald Finley - well, being in that execrable P et M is award-worthy in itself (so why no nomination for Simon Keenlyside) but in a field that also included David McVicar...hello, the man who single-handedly rules London opera? And what about John Tomlinson whose masterful performances in 4x3 Ring Operas should have surely scooped him the award.

Generally I read this thing and shrug; they may not be in exact coincidence with my views but are generally sufficiently in line for me to accept them. Oh well...

Saturday, 26 January 2008

At the time of publishing, this is merely a sorting of data collected over the past couple of years. A mighty big thank you to everybody for their contributions, a wonderful community effort. Keep it up, folks! (And roll on, April...) (And a big thanks to indiscreet opera singers!). If anybody wants to make a contribution but not be published just say so in the comment, and I will incorporate it unattributed, or email me...!

None of this official, all is speculation based upon interviews and private conversations. Not all the facts are double-sourced, and, if the information seems confusing, well, sometimes it's difficult to work out if productions are double-cast or doubly scheduled.

Friday, 15 June 2007

To me, it was always going to be between Jacques Imbrailo (South Africa, baritone) and Miranda Keys (Australia, soprano). I felt if it was - who would I most like to listen to right now, it would be Jacques (curses for thinking that Owen Wingrave tickets would be available close to the performance date). Who would be the big star in,say, ten years time, I would say Miranda Keys.

We were not sure at all about María Isabel Vera (Chile, mezzo). Her Trovatore aria was impressive, but she seemed to lose it a bit in the Dalila. I gather from the telly people that she has a massive voice. That didn't come over on the telly, in fact, having heard them say that I wonder if her sound was turned down, and turned down too much because at times she seemed inaudible over the orchestra - a timely reminder of the unreliability of a TV broadcast...except that, ultimately, we probably all hear more electronically reproduced music than live.

Ivo Yordanov (Bulgaria, baritone) - incidentally, a former Operalia contestant - was okay, but nothing special. It seems unfair to damn with faint praise. Every single one of the 25 competitors are something special, many of them will develop into much better singers, all of them would provide me with an enjoyable evening in the opera house or concert hall. Few of them have that elusive star quality.

Helena Juntunen seemed to have a certain star quality, but her technique let her down. Actually, it was pretty obvious from her body language and general demeanour that she was very dissatisfied with her performance, which is unfortunate, but in a competition, it's how you do on the night - as it is for any performance with a paying audience.

I really liked Jacques,and not just because he's a Jette Parker Young Artist at the ROH. I tried to compare his Ya vas lyublyu with Dima Hvorostovsky and Gerald Finley, and, of course, it didn't compare. But I would be more than happy to hear him sing it in the absence of either of those (and he certainly nailed that long high note at the end better than my Gerald did at Covent Garden last autumn!). I also found his Deh, vieni alla finestra to be flawless, although (seemingly contradictory, but not!) with scope for improvement.

Miranda Keys finished the evening and her Dich, teure Halle in particular was impressive. I was in two minds, because overall I thought she gave a very impressive performance, but I thought that quite a few times she was way off pitch. However, this was in a flamboyant way that can be forgiven in singers who give their all, but I wondered how significant that would be for the judges.

I was surprised that María Isabel Vera won, but will have to accept that she must have come over much better in the hall than on the TV. The Row K Jury agreed with the GertCottage jury in voting for Jacques Imbrailo; Jimmy turned against Miranda Keys because of her appalling choice of dress which really did her no favours. She seems to be a Lisa Gasteen wannabe.

We then awaited the decision for who would actually make the final. I decided it would be Shen Yang, Mari Moriya, Miranda Keys, and two out of Elizabeth Watts, Jacques Imbrailo, and David DQ Lee. (If I had been able to hear all 25 without knowing who had won heats and so on, my own choice might have been quite different...). But I had garnered the opinion of an insider last night who had suggested the judges were on crack and this insider questioned the choice of three of the five finalists.

I have decided that I shall vote for Jacques Imbrailo in the audience vote, reluctantly pushing aside Mari Moriya. I am sticking to my Shen Yang to win; but this jury has shown itself to be less than predictable, so who knows. If he performs as well as he did on Tuesday (live)/Wednesday (TV) it would be injustice if he doesn't win.

But for all the also rans,I hope they have enjoyed the experience, and got something out of it, and I also hope that some of these names will become familiars in my local opera houses and concert halls over the coming years.